How to Clean and Roast Pumpkin Seeds

How to Clean and Roast Pumpkin Seeds

One of our favorite things to do each Halloween is roast pumpkins seeds. Over the years I have figured out the easiest Way to Clean and Roast Pumpkin Seeds. Let me show you How To Clean and Roast Pumpkin Seeds the easy way!

I’ve taken to picking out smaller pumpkins for the grandkids to carve and decorate. The smaller size is great for the kids but if you’re looking for big pumpkin seeds to roast be sure to buy a big pumpkin. The bigger the pumpkin the bigger the seeds will be.

Best Pumpkin Carving Kit

Speaking of carving pumpkins. We love carving pumpkins. We make a big deal out of it. The adults get involved and we try to out do each other with our pumpkin carving designs.

I finally found a great pumpkin carving tool kit that is for the serious pumpkin carvers. My son in-law Scott has some mad awesome pumpkin carving skills so when I saw this awesome pumpkin carving kit I bought us both one.

This pumpkin carving tool kit has a sturdy walnut handle and comes with interchangeable blades that make carving those intricate pumpkin designs so much easier.

What Size Pumpkin for the best roasted pumpkin seeds?

I believe in waste not want not so as long as the seeds are big enough to crack open and eat I will roast them. The bigger the pumpkin the larger the seeds.

If you love to make roasted pumpkin seeds like I do…… then do like I do and buy a huge pumpkin just so you can harvest the pumpkin seeds for roasting.

Some times those really big pumpkins aren’t very good for carving because once you scrape out the seeds and pulp the walls of the pumpkin get weak from the unsupported weight of the sides.

Tip to get all the Pumpkin Pulp off Pumpkin Seeds

Over the years I have learn a great little trick to get all the stringy pieces of pumpkin pulp off the seeds.

First clean out the inside of the pumpkin as usual. Put everything – seeds and pulp into a very large bowl or pot.

Rinse the seeds and pulp under running water.

Pick out the larger pieces of pumpkin pulp.

Rinse and repeat.

Remove as much of the stringy pumpkin pulp as possible.

Now fill the very deep bowl or pot with water.

The pieces of pumpkin will sink and the pumpkin seeds will float to the top.

Easy way to clean pumpkin seeds

Once you’ve gotten all the pumpkin pulp removed drain the seeds in a colander.

I’ve seen lots of recipes for flavored pumpkin seeds out there. You’re not going to find that here. We like good old salted pumpkin seeds in this family. The saltier the better.

How to Roasted Salted Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients

Fresh Pumpkin Seeds {about 3 1/2 cups}

a large Bowl

3-4 cups water

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sea salt

Directions

Put 4 cups water and 1/2 cup of sea salt in a large bowl.

Warm the water up in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Stir until most of the salt has dissolved.

You may still have a little salt on the bottom but that is fine.

Add the pumpkin seeds and let soak for at least three hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour the pumpkin seeds into a large colander to drain.

Spread the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle two tablespoons of sea salt all over the pumpkin seeds and stir to evenly coat.

Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes depending on how large and how many pumpkin seeds you have. Every five minutes or so rotate the pan and using a spatula flip the seeds.

Bake until all seeds are dry.

The shell should still be a pale white color.

Do not allow the shell to brown.

How to make salty roasted pumpkin seeds

There is a trick to getting really salty pumpkin seeds. Some people just sprinkle the salt on the pumpkin seeds after they have spread them out on a baking sheet. I have found the best way to get really salty pumpkin seeds is to soak the seeds in highly salted water first.

About Arlene Mobley

Arlene Mobley author of Flour On My Face-a Food & Lifestyle website where she shares easy recipes for busy families and helps them take the stress out of the hectic dinner hour by stocking the freezer and pantry full of all the ingredients they'll need so they can prepare quick and easy meals.

We don’t even crack them, but I put a little bit of olive oil and sea salt over them as an alternative to brining them. And we love ’em. I’m lucky to get them off of the roasting pan; there never seem to be enough seeds! I do like the cracked ones, too (pepitas). But I pay for someone else to do those 🙂

Julie we never cracked them open either, just ate them whole. Imagine how silly I felt when my 5 year old came home from kindergarten and schooled me on how to really eat a pumpkin seed. I doubted her and googled it.. Imagine that my 5 year old was right, but I still can’t break the habit of eating the whole thing lol

Hey Arlene! This is a great tutorial! Last year we tried to do this with the pumpkin seeds and it did not work so great…I think we missed a few steps though after reading this lol.
I found you on TaterTotsandJello and would love to invite you to my weekly link up party too!
Totally Terrific Tuesdays that runs monday night until sunday! So there is still time to link up if you have a spare moment 🙂
I cant wait to gut all of the pumpkins!

Thank you for joining last week and linking up with Totally Terrific Tuesdays! Link up is now live so hurry back and check out the features and new links!! If you would like a reminder for when the party starts make sure you add me on Google+ where I do an event evite! Thank you again for joining and I hope you are feeling as inspired as I am after seeing all of the awesome content! I am tickled pink whoop whoop!
Have a great day!!
Jesshttp://www.liverandomlysimple.com

If you BOIL the seeds in the salted water until they turn a transparent gray (about 45 min) they will be the tastiest melt in your mouth pumpkin seeds you have ever eaten!!!! Lots faster than letting them sit for three hours. Then bake as directed. I buy pumpkins on sale the day after Halloween just to roast the seeds!

Hi. Thanks for the great post. I scored an unbelievable deal on large pumpkins today at the farmers market. I wait all year for pumpkin seeds and don’t care for the store bought variety. I am also a “whole” seed eater. Learned here there was another way. LOL! Anyhow, by any chnce do you have any tips on what I can do with the actual pumpkins? They are big and I have 11 (my family really likes seeds), so not really sweet or pie style pumpkins. Worst case they’ll end up in the compost. Thanks.

Cut into chunks. Add to pot with some onion and maybe some potato. Cover with water and simmer until tender. Blitz with stick blender then season with salt, pepper and ground cumin. Freezes well too. Add some Mexican style chirizo before blitzing for extra oomph!

Also cut into chunks, drizzled with sale, pepper and olive oil and roasted in a fairly hot oven is yummy too. I often do this before simmering for soup – gives extra depth

[…] How to Clean and Roast Pumpkin Seeds | Flour On My Face – Hey Arlene! This is a great tutorial! Last year we tried to do this with the pumpkin seeds and it did not work so great…I think we missed a few steps though after …… […]

[…] How to Clean and Roast Pumpkin Seeds | Flour On My … – Hey Arlene! This is a great tutorial! Last year we tried to do this with the pumpkin seeds and it did not work so great…I think we missed a few steps though after …… […]

[…] How to Clean and Roast Pumpkin Seeds | Flour On My … – Hey Arlene! This is a great tutorial! Last year we tried to do this with the pumpkin seeds and it did not work so great…I think we missed a few steps though after …… […]

[…] Use your hands to scoop all the seeds from inside the pumpkin and place them in your bowl. This can be a messy activity, but also lots of fun! When you are done with this project, you will have lots of seeds left over. Why not make roasted pumpkin seeds? (Here’s a great recipe from Flour On My Face!) […]

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